


Naming of the Beast

by NeurotropicAgentX



Category: Venom (Movie 2018)
Genre: Aliens, Backstory, Brutality, Cannibalism, Gen, OC Symbiote Death, There's no Justice Like Mob Justice, Worldbuilding
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-20
Updated: 2019-02-20
Packaged: 2019-11-01 06:17:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,316
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17861927
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/NeurotropicAgentX/pseuds/NeurotropicAgentX
Summary: Consciousness hit like a wave, like a signal, like an attack. There had been nothing and now there was a jumble of concepts and thoughts and impulses. It writhed and thrashed, at once realising that it had a body that could do this, that could express this new consciousness.It screeched.





	Naming of the Beast

**Author's Note:**

> Many thanks to my editor for all her assistance.

Consciousness hit like a wave, like a signal, like an attack. There had been nothing and now there was a jumble of concepts and thoughts and impulses. It writhed and thrashed, at once realising that it had a body that could do this, that could express this new consciousness. 

It screeched. 

Now it knew vibration as well as movement. Concepts were linking up inside it faster than it could keep track. _Vibration, movement, signalling, tracking, hunting, predator, prey, feeding, HUNGER._

Something brushed the edge of its body and it recoiled, its focus switching suddenly away from itself to… to… _water, current, environment, home, signals, messages, others, people, threat, food._ The next time something touched it, it was ready. It struck out, clumsy and uncertain, but already getting better at moving itself. Tendrils. _Touch-tendrils, moving-tendrils, feeding-tendrils_ – and something else, something rising in its mind, but not quite there, not quite real. Weaponry. _Blade-tendrils_. It didn’t have weapons and it felt wrong. Everything it knew was something inside it, something it had access to, but not this. 

It screeched again. 

Now that it was focusing outwards, it noticed scent-tastes in the water. Signals. Messages and communications from other people. There were lots of people, the water was thick with signals that pinged off its… _membrane surface, receptors, proteins, signal transduction, chemical cascade_. Some of the signals were its own. It had been releasing curiosity, acrid distress and a tentative hunger signal without choosing to do so consciously. 

Gradually the other signals around it became coherent. It sensed other individuals moving as fitfully and gracelessly as it was, also signalling confusion and anger and fear. And hunger. Understanding dawned. They were also new. _Spawnlets_. It stilled, suspended in the currents, as it thought about this. When another questing tendril flicked against its surface, it didn’t lash out, but rather released a strong signal – its first deliberate one. **I am here. You go.** The exploratory tendril curled back on itself. There was a vibration in the water, but no answering message. The other spawnlet might not have worked out how to signal yet. A sense of smug satisfaction rose in it. It could already communicate. 

There were other signals further out, their intensity weaker from distance. Those chemicals were more deliberate and sensing them started a fresh cascade of understanding. There was long-range and short-range signalling. Messages designed to carry over distance or messages that carried more complex information. Information could be exchanged purposely with just one other person if they were close enough. 

There were many people out there, just beyond the place where the spawnlets like it were gathered. Adults. They were signalling with each other and it could catch the faintest hints of the communications.

**strong one, already attacking…**

**…many tendrils, feeding structures, hungry**

**unnecessary addition, slow**

**…central current, scarce outskirt**

**Move like prey. Hunger. No time for hunting**

The communications made it uneasy and its membrane rippled. One signal was getting clearer, stronger as an adult approached. There were underlying compounds in its signal, strong-binding, intense and simple. _Leader._ The ripple of the spawnlet's membrane became a shiver. Fear welled up inside it, even though it didn’t quite understand why. _Hide,_ its instincts were insisting, but it was surrounded by others and there was nowhere to go. This was open water, no rocks or sand or food. A sudden screech vibrated through the water. One of the spawnlets was shrieking and thrashing as thick, strong tendrils wrapped around it. _Feeding tendrils. Predator. Leader._ The spawnlet/prey was striking out gracelessly. Useless. The leader shifted new tendrils, almost too fast to sense. Blade-tendrils. Weaponry. The prey died quickly, torn apart by the blades and feeding structures. Again the spawnlet felt that sense of wrong. It didn't have blades, but it should have had them.

There was uneasy signalling from the adults who were staying just within range. It only grasped the barest hint of their outrage as it was focused on the leader finishing its kill. Tendrils shot toward it, fast and terrifying. It shifted its body to try and get away, but it was slow, clumsy and sharp edges grazed its membrane. Pain ripped through it and it screeched. It twisted again, but this time a blade sank deep into its body. The agony made its instincts surge in a new direction. It formed teeth and claws and anything that could gouge and fight. It raked at the leader’s tendril-blade. The leader barely reacted. The spawnlet was too weak, too new. It didn’t want to die and it gave everything it had to its first and last fight. Then something fast struck out and wrapped around the leader’s tendril-blade. The spawnlet felt it as a wrench through its whole body and then sudden freedom. A piece of the leader's blade/meat was still buried in the spawnlet's flesh, but now it could start repairing the damage. 

The waters around the leader were seething. The other adults had swarmed it and were tearing it apart with their tendrils. None of them had blades, but the leader was still losing the fight. As powerful as it was, it couldn't win against so many opponents. The waters were rich with signals all overlaying each other. However, there was one dominant message, strong-binding and unpleasant, edged with something mildly caustic. **Aberration.**

The leader shuddered one final time just before it died. The adults finished taking it apart, consuming the pieces that they tore away. The spawnlet started consuming the piece of the leader it still had. What was once a dangerous weapon was now food, but more than that, there was trace information stored in the flesh/meat. Not enough for it to learn to make its own weaponry, but enough to make a start and perhaps recognise similar patterns later.

One of the adults drifted closer to the spawnlet and it formed teeth and claws again. **Go. Kill you,** it signalled as strongly as it could.

The adult didn't leave. **Not kill you,** it signalled back. **Adult not kill spawnlet. Aberrant behaviour.**

The spawnlet hesitated. It had questions that were too complex for long-range signals. But it was loath to get close to anyone, especially an adult. Slowly, carefully, still shifting teeth and sharp edges it extended one touch-tendril far enough to get into close-range. **The leader was aberrant for attacking?** the spawnlet asked.

**Yes. People shouldn't hunt during a spawning and they especially should not hunt the newly-spawned. No matter how scarce food has been lately. No matter if they're a leader or not.**

That made the spawnlet uneasy. Deep inside it knew that leaders were powerful and could do whatever they wanted. People obeyed leaders. They didn’t defy them. **All the adults attacked the leader all at once. Who decided? Who started it?**

There was a tinge of uncertainty flavouring the adult's reply. **The leader was aberrant. No one decided. It was just a riot.**

The spawnlet felt the unfamiliar term pinging off its receptors. The signal was strong, made to carry even at close-range. _Riot_. A thing that even a powerful leader should fear. The chemical components felt right. The spawnlet had started synthesising the compound as soon as it had understood. It knew what this meant instinctively and it chose.

 **I am Riot,** it signalled. Yes. Felt good to communicate it, to have chosen this name. 

The adult's tendrils coiled slowly in amusement. **Greetings, Riot,** it signalled back. **I am Kinase.**

Riot wasn't paying much attention to the signal. It was thinking about how to make a long-range name using similar enough components. Thinking was easier now that it was less hungry. It would get strong, acquire weaponry and become a leader. But it also wouldn't forget what it had learned here. There was always something to fear. No one was safe, not even a leader, and aberrants were hateful things to be torn apart.


End file.
